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Canal trafic resumes

Captain Ted Brown was presented with the traditional top hat as his vessel, the MV Robert S. Pierson, was the first ship to sail upbound through the Welland Canal for the 2017 shipping season. The hat was presented at Lock 3 isn St. Catharines Monday. (Bob Tymczyszyn/St. Catharines Standard/Postmedia Network)

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Captain Ted Brown was getting his 15 minutes of fame as shutters whirred and flashes popped.

“Can we get you putting it on again?” asked one member of the media as Brown held the top hat whose presentation has marked the start of the Welland Canal shipping season since 1947.

The modest captain said he was looking for a nice long season as he posed for photos with his upbound ship idling in Lock 3.

“We love the MV Robert S. Pierson, it’s a great ship and a great crew.”

The ship, owned by Rand Logistics, is a 189-metre-long Canadian flag self-unloader that would make its way to Cleveland and then be back in the lock system by tonight, according to Brown.

Ed Levy, president and CEO of Rand Logistics, said the vessel will move 18,000 tonnes of salt to Toronto, and during the 2017 season will load and unload about 120 times.

“We transport approximately 21 million tonnes of dry bulk commodities annually. To put this tonnage in perspective, to match you would need approximately 670,000 trucks or nearly 210,000 rail cars.”

Levy said the company was honoured to be part of Monday’s Top Hat Ceremony, and was pleased that not only was it the first day of spring but also one of the earliest days of the opening of the canal.

He lauded St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. for its $100 million in improvements and maintenance made to the seaway and Welland Canal during the off-season.

“These improvements are critical to meet the needs of our industry,” he said.

Seaway corporation vice-president of operations Stephen Kwok said there is optimism that cargo volumes will be up this year from the 35 million tonnes that went through the seaway in 2016.

“Marine transportation is an environmentally friendly means of transporting goods and its expanded use will provide benefits to the society as a whole. It supports not only domestic activity but supports trade between Canada and more than 50 other nations.”

He estimated that cargo moved over the combined Great Lakes seaway system supports more than 227,000 jobs and $35 billion of economic activity in Canada and the U.S.

“With the advances we are making with our modernization program, I am confident that the Seaway is ready for the future and is a crucial lynchpin connecting the heartland of North America to the world,” said Kwok.

“Expanding the use of the seaway is a very sustainable way to promote economic growth in a low-carbon economy.”

Kwok said the seaway authority is in its final year of converting all of the high lift-locks to hands-free mooring technology and also moving to remote lock operations.

He said marine transportation is the most energy-efficient means of moving cargo and emits the lowest level of greenhouse gases per tonne miles.

“And were ready to do more. Our existing locks and channels can accommodate double the present level of traffic,” he said.

“We are working closely with our partners in logistics industry to expand the role of marine transportation.”

Earlier at the Top Hat Ceremony for the canal’s first downbound vessel of the season, at Lock 8 Park, Capt. Gary Kafcsak of the tug-barge combination Calusa Coast and Delaware received the ceremonial head-topper in Port Colborne.

“The City of Port Colborne takes seriously our responsibility to work with the marine industry to enable them to move their goods through the marine system in an efficient and economical manner. And the marine industry supports the city as well,” said Mayor John Maloney.

“Look at the number of ships that were docked over the winter here … and the benefits they bring to our local economy.”

Regional chair Alan Caslin said while the canal links two Great Lakes, it also helps tie the region together and is an economic driver.

Jim Wheeler, manager of canal services for the seaway, said Monday’s ceremony marked the start of the 189th year of operation of the canal.

“Marine transportation has played a significant role in building our country for centuries,” said Wheeler, as he referenced Canada’s upcoming 150th birthday.

He said long before the modern day seaway system, which stretches some 3,700 kilometres from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence River and Welland Canal, which was constructed starting in 1824, were important trade routes.

Nearly three billion tonnes of cargo, worth some $400 billion, has moved through the seaway system since 1959, Wheeler said.

The Calusa Coast and Delaware are part of Dann Marine Towing, a fifth generation family-owned and operated tugboat company, which manages a fleet of 22 ocean and coastal tugboats as well as inland push boats. The captain and his crew were bound for Hamilton with a load of liquid asphalt from Detroit.

“This is a big honour to do this. I love it,” he said of the ceremony. “I appreciate what the canal and Canada has done for us, to keep us moving products and working. It’s a very well-maintained canal. We’re grateful to be working in these waters,” he said.

The Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System is a “marine highway” that extends some 3,700 km from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. Approximately 160 million tonnes of cargo travels over the system on an annual basis, supporting over 227,000 jobs and $35 billion in economic activity.

The binational St. Lawrence Seaway serves as the linchpin within the broader waterway, connecting the lower St. Lawrence River to the Great Lakes. Beginning in Montreal and extending to points west, the seaway’s 15 locks (13 Canadian and two U.S.) enable ships to climb a total of 168 metres from sea level up to Lake Erie. For more information on the St. Lawrence Seaway, see www.greatlakes-seaway.com.

Stakeholders within the system have been pioneers at advancing and developing new technologies that promote safety and environmental protection, including:

In 2002, the seaway was the world’s first inland waterway to adopt the Automatic Identification System (AIS) to share vital marine navigation data from ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore in real time.

Since 2010, Canadian shipowners have invested over $2 billion on specially-designed, eco-friendly vessels built for use in the seaway that have won numerous international awards.

In 2015, St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. received the Promising Innovation in Transport Award by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for developing the first hands-free mooring system in the world for a lock system.